AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh bummer.”
“And, as you know, Valentine’s Day isn’t great for Charli either, so I think I might go get some fast food for us and call it a day.”
Gareth felt for his sister. It wasn’t easy being a single mom on the best of days, but combined with Valentine’s Day. “Anything I can do?”
“Nope. Just go enjoy your date with Aria. I know she’s looking forward to it.”
That made Gareth happy. “I am, too.”
They chatted for a few minutes before Aria came downstairs. She wore a black skirt that ended just above her knees over the top of black tights, and her light pink shirt was fitted, ending with a curved hem at her hips.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
Her cheeks flushed. “Thank you.” Then she gave him a shy smile. “You look very handsome.”
“Yeah. Yeah. You make a lovely couple.” Janessa made shooing motions with her hands. “Now go enjoy yourselves.”
Gareth helped Aria with her coat, then they went out to the car.
As he pulled away from the curb, he said, “Do you know what’s up with Layla?”
“Something happened at school regarding Valentine’s cards that were given out. Sounded like some little boy liked another girl’s card better than the one Layla gave him.”
“I’m not sure that celebrating Valentine’s Day at that age is a good thing. I have never really enjoyed the day in the past, to be honest. And I never saw the sense in it when I was Layla’s age. Mom would make me sit and address cards to all the kids in my class. Even the ones I didn’t like. It was a pain.”
Aria laughed. “I didn’t mind doing the cards. Mom would help me glue chocolate kisses to them, which meant that everyone liked mine best. Unfortunately, I haven’t really enjoyed the holiday much as I’ve gotten older. This has been the best one I’ve ever had, and it’s not even over yet.”
Gareth loved that he had done that for her. “Weren’t you engaged?”
This was the first time they’d ventured into past relationships, but Gareth felt like maybe it was time. Though he didn’t like to imagine Aria with another man, he knew it was important to understand how she’d felt about that relationship. It had been serious enough to have turned into an engagement, so clearly that man had played a significant role in Aria’s life.
“Yes. I was engaged for about eight months. My ex broke it off not long after my mom was diagnosed with cancer.”
Gareth frowned, unable to keep from asking, “He broke it offbecauseyour mom had cancer? Or was that just bad timing?”
“Because of my mom’s diagnosis,” she said. “I was spending a lot of time taking care of her, and between that and my job, I didn’t have much time for our relationship.”
Gareth felt a surge of anger toward the man who had abandoned Aria during a time when she’d needed him most. “And he didn’t understand that?”
“He tried to at first, but then he said that he needed more from me.”
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that while also helping your mom.”
“It was difficult,” she said. “But now I’m glad that it didn’t work out with him.”
Her words made Gareth smile. “Maybe it’s selfish of me. But I’m glad too.”
“He was my first really serious boyfriend,” she revealed. “Honestly, I didn’t know much about how romantic relationships worked, since my mom never had a boyfriend. So I know I played a role in its demise, too.”
“But you should be able to count on someone who says they love you,” Gareth said. “I understand that relationships don’t work out, but it shouldn’t be because someone doesn’t want to stick around through the rough patches.”
Aria fell silent, and Gareth regretted having delved into the topic with her. He didn’t want her to be thinking about a relationship that had failed when he hoped to cultivate a serious relationship with her himself.
He reached over and touched her hands where they rested in her lap. “I’m sorry to have brought up a bad time in your life.”
She flipped her hand over and interlaced their fingers, then put her other hand on top of their joined ones. “It’s a part of what brought me here, so even though I was upset when it happened, I can see now that it was for the best.”
Gareth definitely agreed with that, and he was glad that she viewed it that way, too. He didn’t want to be second best to the man she’d been engaged to. He didn’t want to be the man she settled for because she couldn’t have her ex.
